James macdonald



(NO Model.) L

J. MACDONALD.

MACHINE FOR GOMPRESSING VSALT ROLLS. N- 3661'75- Patented July 5, 18B?.v

Wil/1W VII V F f H fifi/1% y VIII/l .infami-0r: 'l James Macdonald.

Gridle Fletcher :BY y VIII-'YS'.

UNITED STATES .ATET irren.

JAMES MACDONALD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE U. S. SALT ROLL COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR COlVlPRESSING SALT ROLLS.

' SPECIFICATION farming part of Letters Patent No. 366,175, dated July 5, 1887.

Application filed July 3, 1856. Serial No. 207,120. (No model) To @ZZ whom, it may concern.:

Be it known that I, .Lunas MAeDoNALD, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Compressing Salt Rolls, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of'said device. Fig.

Io 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional View thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the mold partially broken away to show the sliding plate beneath. Fig. 4 is a view of a salt roll formed therein. Fig. 5 is a central vertical sectional view in detail of one of the molds, showing the removable disk or end mold and the manner of sustaining the spindle therein. Fig. Gis a detail view of the removable disk and thesaltroll spindle therein. Fig. 7 is a detail view 2o of one of the compressingpistons or male dies, which is partially in section; and Fig. Sis a central vertical section in detail of a mold, showing a modified construction of the lining.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in the different figures.

Heretofore in the formation of salt rolls they have been compressed in a cast-iron mold so constructed that the roll when formed assumed the shape of a plain cylinder,the ends ofwhich were square or at right angles to its axis. The delicate and fragile corners thus formed rendered it easily chipped or broken either in taking it from the mold or in subsequenthandling. Moreover, the salt when compressed,

being in immediate contact with the iron surface of the mold, quickly oxidized the latter and made it difficult to keep the interior of the mold smooth and clean, or to produce clean white rolls, they being` invariably more 4o or Aless stained with rust, which greatly impaired their commercial value.

The object of my invention is to overcome these difficulties and objections and to so construct a mold that the ends of the roll formed therein may have a rounded or beveled. configuration, and that the rolls may be rapidly and easily removed therefrom without danger of breakage, and, moreover, that said rolls when formed may be pure and free from stain 5o or discoloration, all of which I accomplish subslantially in the manner hereinafter lnore particularly described and claimed.

In the drawings, A, Fig. l, represents the frame of an ordinary hydraulic press,of which B is the bed, connected with the pistons b, and adapted to be raised by the Water-pressure when operated.

C is a block of east-iron, through which holes are bored to form the mold. Each of said holes is lined by rigidly inserting therein 6o a tube, D, of metal or other material which is not corroded by the action of salt thereon, such as glass,niekel, German silver, or phosphorbronze, but preferably the latter.. The holes through the casting C are each bored with varying diameters, and the lining D inserted therein is preferably provided with one or more shoulders, d, so as to conform to the interior diameters of said holes, the shoulders d resting upon corresponding shoulders, as 7o shown, upon the interior diameter of the holes in which they are inserted.' The object of this construction is to resist the downward pressure of the plungers K during the compression of the salt. A modification of this coustruc- 75 tion is shown in Fig. S, in which the liningD is tapered upon the outside, as shown, the larger diameter being at the top; but I prefer the construction iirst described. The interior of the lining D is bored parallel from the top to a distance in its length equal to that traversed by the plunger K in compressing the salt. From this point, as at d, to the top of the disk II (hereinafter mentioned) the hole is slightly conical, the larger diameter being at the bottom. This causes the salt roll to be formed slightly conical in shape, thus requin ing but very little downward movement to loosen it in the mold. Beneath the block C, I place an iron plate, E, provided with perfora- 9o tions e, corresponding in number and position with the respective molds D. A link, e', Figs. 2 and'S, is loosely connected with said plate and with one arm of a lever, F, the other arm of which is connected with an arm, c, attached 9 5 to the block C. Upon operating said lever the plate E is caused to slide back and. forth beneath the block C, so that its perforations may be brought oppositeto those of the block or removed sufficiently therefrom,as indicated Ico in dotted lines in Fig. 3, to wholly close the latter.

It is desirable that the salt roll should be provided with a spindle or axis upon which to turn when in use. G, Fig.l 4E,l represents such a roll having a metal spindle', g. One end of said spindle is iirst inserted in a socket in a disk, H, Fig. 6,whieh disk is provided with an expanding ring, h, inserted within a circumferential groove therein. The block C being removed from its position in the press, and the plate E vbeing adjusted with its perforations opposite the molds, as shown in detail in Fig. 5, the disks H are placed in position, as shown in said figure, in which place they are temporarily retained by the spring h,

`and thus serve to partially support the spindies g in position. When all are in place,the

, plate E is adjusted as in Fig. 2, thus forming a base for the disks to rest upon. rIhe upper end of each of said spindles is inserted in a socket in the lower end of a guide-rod, la, as

shown in Figs. 2 and 5, which rod is adapted to tit within a suitable bore, 7c', Fig. l, in a plunger, K. After placing the-rods 7c in position upon t-he spindles g, and sliding the plate in the position shown in Fig. 2, the molds are filled with salt, on which the plungers K are placed, and the block C is then put into the press, the plate E resting upon the bed when the pressure is applied. The result is that the rod 7c is pushed up into the bore 7c', and serves to retain the upper end of the spindle g concentric with the mold. The lower end of the plunger and the top of the disk H, which form, respectively, the opposite ends of the roll, are concave in form, and thus serve to impart a rounded or 4convex shape to the ends of the salt roll, thus improving its appearance and preventing it from chipping While being 4o removed from the mold. Itis obviousthat the entire block C may be made from a non-corrosive material, which would serve a like purpose, but would be more costly.

By the use of the non-corrosive tubesD and the formation of the ends as shown I am enabled to produce a salt roll which, while it retains its form intact, presents a pure white and unstained surface, resembling polished marble in appearance.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In a machine for forming salt rolls, the combination, with a molding-block, of a sliding-plate having perforations corresponding in size and position with said molds and means for adjusting the same, substantially as described, and for the purposes specified.

2. The combination of the block C, the sliding perforated plate E, removable disks H, guide-rods 7c, and hollow plunger's K with a suitable press, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a machine for forming salt rolls, the combination, with a mold, of the disks H and plungers K, having concave faces, whereby the respective ends of the salt roll may be given a rounded or beveled shape, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. The combination, with the mold D,of the '7o removable disk H, provided with a concave Y face, and means, as the spring h, for temporarily sustaining the same in the mold, substantially as specified.

-' JAMES MACDONALD.

Witnesses:

JN0. A. CoMsTooK, T. K. WEBsTnR. 

